Smartphones 'causing children to go cross-eyed', South Korea study says

Excessive use of smartphones by children is causing them to become cross-eyed, according to a study in South Korea.

Doctors at Chonnam National University Hospital in Seoul have identified a link between over-use of mobile phones and convergent strabismus, a condition that sees a patient's eyes gradually moving inwards until the person is eventually cross-eyed.

The researchers told Yonhap News that the condition has rarely been diagnosed in South Korean children previously but is a more common genetic condition in the West, where it is generally noted before the age of five.

The South Korean study is based on 12 children aged between seven and 16 and who used mobile phones between four and eight hours a day.

A young girl using a smart phoneCredit:
Alamy

The researchers also said the children had got into the habit of holding their phones at a distance of between eight and 12 inches from their faces.

The researchers have recommended that users should not look at a mobile phone screen for more than 30 minutes at a time and that children displaying signs of deviated eyes should consult a doctor immediately.

Crossed eyes is just the latest complaint blamed on technology, with the South Korean government announcing in March that it will set up residential centres where children will be forced to live without access to mobile phones or computers.

A study of South Korean students last year showed that 72 percent of children have a smartphone by the age of 11 and they spend an average of 5.4 hours every day using the devices. As a consequence, 25 percent of children were considered to be addicted to their mobile phones.